Dread.

First things first: DOWNTON! I'm stressing out! Ahh! We don't have a TV so I'm watching UK versions my amazing pen-pal sent me and am finding it challenging to stay on track and not jump ahead in the hopes that the storylines will get happier. The only thing stopping me is this consuming feeling of dread that things will not actually be happier in the upcoming episodes.

Speaking of dread, I might not be ready to start teaching again. Winter break has gone by way too quickly. I haven't accomplished half the sewing and cooking goals set for myself. How sad! I am going to be teaching over-full-time again this semester and when you factor in that the commute I'm used to of 10 minutes each way (is it fair to call that a commute?) will now become 40 minutes each way. Yuck. That is going to result in so much less sewing time.

Here is the stuff I have finished up. First off a repurposed old t-shirt that I'm [eventually] turning into a grocery bag. My Star Trek bag is getting so many compliments that I just had to add a Star Wars bag to the mix. I love confusing people especially when those people are strangers at the grocery store!


This bit of stitching will be worked into the bag somehow. I'm not the tidiest of stitchers, but hopefully I can put it to good use.


I also whipped up some bread bowls to freeze since there will not be enough time to make any exciting food this semester and a homemade bread bowl can jazz up nearly any soup!


Over the holidays I learned that cooking in someone else's kitchen is difficult. To thank the people who generously let me commandeer their kitchens, I offered to make them some potholders. This first one is for my boyfriend's aunt. I had made the EPP star just to see if I could do it neatly (turns out I can) and thought this would be the best use for it!


Check out that echo quilting! This was a first for me and I think it came out fairly well considering I kind of forgot to baste everything. Props to my boyfriend for posing as a design wall at the farmer's market!


I also made another trivet for my boyfriend's bff's wife (she also received the fox one). This one is backed in shelf lining stuff to make it grippy (huzzah for that stuff being machine washable!).


I decided to try a new bread recipe because Active Dry Yeast was on sale. I made challah bread from this recipe. This recipe was easy to follow and tastes wonderful! My only issue is that the bottom of the loaf is a little too dark and crunchy despite being taken out a little before the minimum suggested time. I'm blaming my oven.


Oh! I also made (and mailed) this cat/space themed grocery bag for a wonderful friend. She is as close to a crazy cat lady as someone can get without actually being a crazy cat lady so this fabric made me think of her. It is so kitsch and catty, but dare I say it a little tasteful! Sadly I can only find one of her three cats' doppelgangers in the fabric. The blue space fabric is the lining as well as the straps.


Lastly, I finished the main body of yet another big blocks quilt. It is all Dr. Seuss fabric or oddly matchy matchy prints. Oh and there are a few solids thrown in for good measure. This is destined to be a sample quilt for a LQS, but I didn't grab enough fabric for the border.


My goal for the rest of the week is to finish up all of my syllabi and prep for the semester as quickly as possible so that I can head down and power through a bunch of sewing and cooking freezer food to last the 6.5 weeks until spring break. I can do anything for 6.5 weeks.